Mother's Day 2016: Photographer captures the moment that parents meet their newborn babies

Mary Fermont has documented over 100 births 

Kashmira Gander
Saturday 05 March 2016 18:43 EST
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(Fermont Fotographie)

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A photographer in the Netherlands is capturing the moment that parents meet their newborn babies in a powerful photo series.

Mary Fermont, a 35-year-old photographer from the Netherlands, has documented over 100 births since spring 2011.

Recalling the first photograph she took for the project, Ms Fermont told The Independent she remembers the moment vividly.

“It was May 6th 2011 and I was extremely nervous. I thought I’d bother the parents with every sound I made. Every time I took a picture I felt like the noise could be heard on the other side of the world.

“Once they had their baby I asked them if I bothered them and the mum said: ‘I don’t even know when you came in’.”

Asked whether the images are difficult to take at a time of raw emotion, she explained: “You never know how parents react and there are more people in the room at this moment.

“I need to be as invisible as possible and I have to make sure everyone can do his or her job.

She decided to compile the photographs during her maternity leave last year when she had her first child Liv.

“[Becoming a mother] is one of the most special and rewarding moments in your life. There is so much love… I always knew I wanted to become a mother one day, but when I documented my first birth, I couldn’t wait.”

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